Slow Heartbeat at Ultrasound?

Hello everyone! My partner and I are currently expecting our first baby and we are absolutely ecstatic! I went in for my first ultrasound on August 24th. Since I'm very early, she couldn't see much and wanted to do the internal one. She did and estimated that I am about six weeks at this point. She could see the heartbeat but could not hear it however did not act too concerned. She printed off the pictures and told us everything looked good. Well this past Monday, August 27th, I got a call from my doctor saying she was a little concerned because the heart rate was a little low. She said it was only around 95 bpm and scheduled me for another ultrasound this Wednesday September 5th. Since this is our first child, I have been a nervous wreck wondering if everything is okay or not. Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Comments (12)

With ds my first ultrasound was at 7weeks. They saw but could not hear the heartbeat so they didn't even measure it. I am sure it is hard not to worry but try to be thankful that your have a proactive dr. That is going to look into it more!

I was told at my first appointment that i only measured 6 weeks and the heartbeat was slow. She didn't ever tell me an exact number just said it was slow. Then I went back after exactly a week, measured 8 weeks and ears a heartbeat of 154! They said everything looked great and probably had falsely confused my own heartbeat with the baby's and jut weren't getting a good look. I was kind of pissed that they had freaked me out over nothing, but my point is, it might be nothing it may have just been too early!

I've read a lot about this because we had a slow heart rate on first ultrasound with my first pregnancy. It was also 95 bpm, but that was much worse for us because I was already past 7 weeks, when it should be at least 120. At 6 weeks the normal range starts at 100, so you are very close. If the tech was off by even 2-3 days and you were actually a bit below 6 weeks, this could be totally normal. However, a slower heart rate does predict a higher risk of miscarriage, so I think it's good your doctor is following up.

Here's some info from Up to Date - I can't link it because it's a paid subscription service for physicians. I'd focus on the 62% chance that everything is ok. If you'd like to see the citations (numbered things), let me know. Best of luck, and I really hope Wednesday's scan turns out well! I think your chances are good.

Slow fetal heart rate - Embryonic heart rate below 100 beats per minute (bpm) at 5 to 7 weeks of gestation is slow [82-84]. In one study, the first trimester survival rate was 62 percent among 531 embryos with slow early heart rates (less than 100 bpm at less than 6.2 weeks, less than 120 bpm at 6.3 to 7.0 weeks) compared to 92 percent survival among 1501 embryos with normal heart rates [84]. Higher rates of pregnancy loss are associated with lower embryonic heart rates; survival is zero at heart rates below 70 bpm at 6 to 8 weeks of gestation [83,85-88]. An increased risk of first trimester embryonic demise persists in embryos with a slow heart rate at 6.0 to 7.0 weeks but normal heart rate at follow-up ultrasound at 8 weeks; one in four of these fetuses were lost [88]. If slow cardiac activity is observed, it is prudent to perform a follow-up sonogram (in five to seven days) to document loss of the cardiac activity before proceeding to dilatation and curettage.

My first ultrasound was at 6weeks 2 days and they also had a hard time getting the heartbeat and from what she thinks was a measurement it was 98bpm and when I went in to see my Dr at the end of that week I saw the ultrasound report and it said everything looked great. That early on they have a hard time measuring it properly, also its possible your babies heart just started beating. I had an ultrasound this past Monday at 9weeks 1 day and babies heartrate was 169.3 bpm. So I wouldn't worry! I also did alot of research the night of my first ultrasound and read quite a bit of stuff about fetal heartrates at 5.5-6.5 weeks was very common for the heartrate to be between 90-100 bpm.

I'm going through the same thing and I find out Wednesday. I was so worried at first but now, looking at the stats and talking to others, it can work out. Keep us updated, I can update as well on Wednesday. Hoping for a strong heartbeat for both of our babies! :)

When I had my U/S last week I was approximately 7 weeks along or so. My doctor didn't even measure the heartrate, he just said it was flickering nicely and seemed strong so I didn't worry about asking for specifics--maybe I should've! He did bring it up on the screen so we could hear it, but he didn't measure BPM.

I'm sure everything will be fine with your little one! 6 weeks is super early to expect a very fast HR.

Hi there! I, too, am going through this, but our hb was even lower. Trying to stay positive. At 95 bpm it's so very close to where it should be. Wishing you the very best for a happy and healthy pregnancy. Hang in there!